

MIGUEL RISCH
Senior Partner
Immigration & Federal Law


LEONARDO FREITAS
Managing Business Partner
HAYMAN-WOODWARD, in more than two decades of operation, offers professional and personalized advice to clients and partners, in areas such as expatriation,
international trade, tax and fiscal consulting and government liaison and business development services. HAYMAN-WOODWARD assists different target
groups such as big and small companies, families, and individuals with every step of the expatriation and relocation process.
Our legal team in each jurisdiction assists clients with visas managements, our logistics team helps with the transportation,
safe passage and delivery of household goods, while our Family Office group will take care of all the other needs, including taxation,
schools, legal and any other ancillary needs.
Leonardo Freitas
Mr. Freitas, a founding partner of the international firm HAYMAN-WOODWARD, is a former federal agent of the US Department of Homeland Security,
a specialist in the expatriation of individuals and legal entities and business development in the United States, Europe and Asia.
Mr. Leonardo Freitas is an entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience in government relations, international trade business development in the United States,
as well as emerging markets, with a focus on Latin America and Asia. He served as senior business development executive for distinguished companies such as Philips Electronics,
AT&T and Cisco Systems, with a remarkable track record in major government and private sector sales achievements. His natural ability to assess deceptive behavior led him
to become a certified trainer in the Facial Action Coding System (FACS), a technique developed at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) by renowned psychiatrist
and behavioral scientist Dr. Paul Ekman, and he furthered his studies in Behavioral Sciences at the University of Melbourne.
Mr. Freitas became officially recognized for his ability to identify and interpret body language, facial micro-expressions and deceptive behavior.
His remarkable skills have been used to assist law enforcement and intelligence agencies in special investigations during his decade-long tenure at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
He founded TradeSmart in 1996, which in 2003 became HAYMAN-WOODWARD, in order to assist clients with international trade and business development through expatriation.
An accomplished musician, he also attended the prestigious Berklee College of Music (Boston – USA), majoring in Music Production and Sound Engineering,
and did an internship at Polygram Records (now Universal Music) as a post-production studio manager. Mr. Freitas is also a member of the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary,
where he is a certified paramedic. As an aviator, avid skier, and yachtsman, he has traveled over 110 countries and visited the most remote areas of the world.
*Not a licensed attorney, but a non-attorney professional in the areas of immigration, taxation and business consulting.
Miguel Negeliskii Risch
Mr. Risch is a Brazilian-American Attorney and Senior Partner of HAYMAN-WOODWARD PLLC specializing in Immigration & Federal Law.
He is admitted to practice in the United States, Brazil and Portugal. An accomplished internationally-renowned lawyer, he has been based in the United States for over 15 years.
He earned a Bachelor of Laws / Júris Doctor with honors, from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil,
where he clerked under Judge Márcio Keppler Fraga in both criminal and civil state court, in his native city of Porto Alegre.
Mr. Risch then obtained a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree from the University of Miami in the United States.
Prior to joining HAYMAN-WOODWARD he worked at prestigious immigration law firms, such as Rahbaran & Associates where he specialized in employment-based,
family-based, and investment-based immigration cases; as well as complex cases involving domestic violence and political asylum.
Mr. Risch also served as in-house counsel for Motorola and Fox Latin America, where he successfully negotiated a variety of international contracts,
in addition to handling complex international tax matters and both immigrant and non-immigrant visa matters for their employees.
Since becoming a partner at HAYMAN-WOODWARD Mr. Risch has been leading an unparalleled legal team which is fully proficient in the many complex areas
of immigration and tax laws, including but not limited to National Interest Waivers, Asylums, multinational transfers, extraordinary and exceptional abilities,
artists and entertainers, athletes, naturalizations, bilateral international tax treaties, wills and trusts, estate planning, tax planning, and much more.
*Not licensed in the District of Columbia, licensed in the State of New York; practice limited to representation under federal law before federal agencies in immigration and tax.